System and method of determining price optimization for distributed demand

Abstract

The method for reducing vendor bid amounts includes providing a supplier with an invitation to make a bid for supplying a digital print job. The print job is characterized by a demand for a first number of units by a select date. The method further includes determining if a demand condition can be met. The determination includes using historical data to calculate a first commitment quantity for current jobs being provided by the supplier. The first commitment quantity is then used to calculate a second commitment quantity. The second commitment quantity provides an estimate for the number of the units and a date. The second commitment quantity is displayed to the supplier. The method provides the supplier with an option to bid for producing the estimated number of units by the estimated date.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A web-based program being executed on a computer device for providing supplier-bid amounts for a print job, the program comprising:
 a computer-usable data carrier storing instructions that are executable by a computer, the data carrier being adapted to provide a supplier with an invitation to bid for a digital print job characterized by a demand for a first number of units needed by a select date;   the carrier being further adapted to:
 determine if a supplier-provided demand condition related to the supplying of a digital print job can be met, including:
 use historical data to calculate a first commitment quantity for current jobs being provided by the supplier, and 
 compute a second, estimated commitment quantity including an estimated number of the units that the supplier is capable of producing by an estimated date; 
 
 display the estimated commitment quantity to the supplier; and, 
 provide the supplier with an option to bid for the print job. 
   
     
     
         2 . The program of  claim 1 , wherein the carrier is further adapted to calculate the first commitment quantity by calculating a mean demand for a total quantity of all the current jobs being provided by the supplier. 
     
     
         3 . The program of  claim 1 , wherein the carrier is further adapted to calculate the estimated commitment quantity using a supplier-entered salvage value as a variable in a computation. 
     
     
         4 . The program of  claim 3 , wherein the carrier further includes an instruction for calculating an estimated profit based on the salvage value. 
     
     
         5 . The program of  claim 1 , wherein the demand condition is a maximized profit. 
     
     
         6 . The program of  claim 1 , wherein the demand condition is a fill-rate. 
     
     
         7 . The program of  claim 1 , wherein the carrier further includes an instruction for using input for an availability of additional resources as variables included in a calculation for the first commitment quantity. 
     
     
         8 . The program of  claim 1 , wherein the invitation and the option are web-based communications provided to the supplier. 
     
     
         9 . The program of  claim 2 , wherein the carrier further includes an instruction for providing the invitation in response to a determination that the supplier passes initial qualifying criteria. 
     
     
         10 . The program of  claim 1 , wherein the web-based program is a reverse auction program for providing a customer with a list of suppliers, the program identifies suppliers that pass initial qualifying criteria. 
     
     
         11 . The program of  claim 10 , wherein the carrier further includes an instruction for storing historical data related to a second number of units produced by the supplier within a select time frame. 
     
     
         12 . The program of  claim 1 , wherein the carrier further includes an instruction for evaluating bids based on the demand condition. 
     
     
         13 . The program of  claim 1 , wherein the carrier further includes an instruction for providing the supplier with an option to negotiate a modification of the demand condition based on the displayed second commitment quantity. 
     
     
         14 . A method for providing supplier bid amounts, comprising:
 using a web-based application, determining if a printing entity meets predetermined criteria for supplying a digital print job characterized by a demand for a first number of units by a select date, the determining including:
 using historical data to calculate a first commitment quantity for current jobs being provided by the entity, and 
 computing a second, estimated commitment quantity including an estimated number of the units that the entity is capable of producing by an estimated date; 
   in response to the printing entity meeting the predetermined criteria, providing the entity with the estimated commitment quantity for the print job, time and quantity parameters of the digital print job, and selective entity-entered data;   providing the entity with an option to bid for the print job.   
     
     
         15 . A web-based program being executed on a computer device for providing supplier-bid amounts for a print job, the program comprising:
 a computer-usable data carrier storing instructions that are executable by a computer, the data carrier being adapted to
 determine if a printing entity meets predetermined criteria for supplying a digital print job characterized by a demand for a first number of units by a select date, the determining including: 
 use historical data to calculate a first commitment quantity for current jobs being provided by the entity, and 
 compute a second, estimated commitment quantity including an estimated number of the units that the entity is capable of producing by an estimated date; 
 in response to the printing entity meeting the predetermined criteria, provide the entity with the estimated commitment quantity for the print job, time and quantity parameters of the digital print job, and selective entity-entered data; and, 
   provide the entity with an option to bid for the print job.